SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Salisbury University volleyball team won its fourth straight match to open the season, breezing by the Arcadia Knights in a 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-18) sweep to kick off the Garnet Invitational on Friday evening at Tarble Pavillion.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After falling behind 7-3 early in the first set, the Sea Gulls erupted for eight points in a row to go up 11-7. The Knights kept pace up until the 15-12 mark, when SU rattled off seven of the next eight to make it 22-13.
• Arcadia netted three in a row as a last gasp, but kills from Kiley McTaggart and Delaney Madsen and a Julie Altieri service ace put the opening fixture away for the Sea Gulls, 25-16.
• The teams boxed evenly through the 5-5 mark of the second set until Salisbury landed a haymaker with six in a row to take a 11-5 advantage. Arcadia clawed back within 13-10, but the Sea Gulls snagged four of the next five points to retake control at 17-11.
• The Knights never got closer than four points the rest of the set, as McTaggart and Jackie Mitchell landed back-to-back kills to ice it for SU, 25-19.
• The runs continued in the third set as Salisbury used an early 5-1 push to take a 7-4 lead after a kill from Emma Quandt. SU built its cushion to 12-7 before AU went on a 6-1 swing to draw even at 13-13.
• The Sea Gulls answered with six of the next seven, including three kills in four points for Mitchell to make it 19-14. The Knights could never get closer than four the rest of the way, and McTaggart salted away a sweep with the final kill to finish the job, 25-18.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Jackie Mitchell landed double-digit kills for the third time in four matches, racking up 10 kills (.217) with six digs and two service aces.
• Delaney Madsen powered down nine kills against no errors for an impressive .643 swing percentage.
• Kiley McTaggart connected on eight kills (.278), while Emma Quandt chipped in five kills (.357) with two blocks (one solo).
• Julie Alteri paced the Sea Gulls with 16 assists, while Brooke Young added 13 helpers and seven digs.
• Grace Rail and Natalie Uibel shared the team lead with 14 digs each.
• Salisbury attacked at a .245 clip for the match, including a highwater mark of .314 in the third and final set.

ARCADIA GAME NOTES

• Alyssa Dennison and Estefania Martinez-Sola shared the Knight lead with seven kills apiece. Martinez-Sola also added nine digs and six assists.
• Kelsi Warner set up 13 kills and dug out nine attacks.
• Hannah Sanchez paced the backline with 10 digs.
• The Knights attacked at just a .059 rate over the three sets.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will play their final two games of the Garnet Invitational back-to-back late Saturday afternoon.
• Salisbury is set to battle Bowdoin at 4 p.m., followed by a showdown against hosts Swarthmore at 6:30 p.m.

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Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and men's and women's swimming, and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, and dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on-and-off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 23 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 196 conference championships and 45 Academic All-Americans.

To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.